The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Viburnum plant, botanically known as Viburnum dilatatum, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Henneke.
The new Viburnum is a product of a breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Milan, Ind. The objective of the breeding program was to create new Viburnum cultivars with excellent winter hardiness.
The new Viburnum originated from a cross by the Inventor of two unidentified selections of Viburnum dilatatum, not patented. The cultivar Henneke was discovered and selected by the Inventor in the spring of 1990 as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Milan, Ind., on the basis of its winter hardiness.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by softwood cuttings taken at Milan, Ind., since 1993, has shown that the unique features of this new Viburnum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the cultivar Henneke have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, daylength, irrigation amount and frequency, and fertilizer type and rate without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Hennekexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Hennekexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright and rounded plant habit.
2. Very freely branching; dense and bushy plant habit.
3. Durable foliage that is relatively less susceptible to marginal scorching.
4. Numerous small white flowers arranged in large rounded hemispherical cymes.
5. Long-persisting dark red fruit; fruit persists until late spring.
6. Superior winter hardiness; plants have been observed to tolerate temperatures as low as xe2x88x9235xc2x0 C.
Plants of the new Viburnum can be compared to plants of the Viburnum dilatatum cultivar Erie, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Grand Haven, Mich., plants of the new Viburnum differ from plants of the cultivar Erie in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Viburnum are not as upright as plants of the cultivar Erie.
2. Plants of the new Viburnum are more freely branching than plants of the cultivar Erie.
3. Plants of the new Viburnum have more durable foliage that is less susceptible to marginal scorching than plants of the cultivar Erie.
4. Cymes of the new Viburnum are rounded and hemipherical in shape whereas cymes of the cultivar Erie are flat-topped.
5. Plants of the new Viburnum are significantly more winter hardy than plants of the cultivar Erie as plants of the cultivar Erie die-back when exposed to temperatures of xe2x88x9215xc2x0 C.
Plants of the new Viburnum can be compared to plants of the Viburnum dilatatum cultivar Michael Dodge, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Grand Haven, Mich., plants of the new Viburnum differ from plants of the cultivar Michael Dodge in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Viburnum are not as upright as plants of the cultivar Michael Dodge.
2. Plants of the new Viburnum are more freely branching than plants of the cultivar Michael Dodge.
3. Fruit color of the new Viburnum is dark red whereas fruit color of the cultivar Michael Dodge is light green.
4. Cymes of the new Viburnum are hemispherical in shape whereas cymes of the cultivar Michael Dodge are flat-topped.
5. Plants of the new Viburnum are significantly more winter hardy than plants of the cultivar Michael Dodge as plants of the cultivar Michael Dodge die-back when exposed to temperatures of xe2x88x9215xc2x0 C.